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Burke says no to more Crundwell questions

Mayor: No purpose served by further public inquiries

BY MATT MENCARINI
mmencarini@saukvalley.com
800-798-4085, ext. 529

Oct. 28, 2013

DIXON – There was going to be a time for questions. Not anymore.

Dixon Mayor Jim Burke said Monday he doesn’t plan to publicly answer questions about Rita Crundwell, the former comptroller now in federal prison for stealing nearly $54 million in city funds over 2 decades.

“I don’t know what questions need to be asked,” Burke said. “And I guess I don’t know what purpose it would serve.”

Earlier this month, Burke said he and other members of the City Council would answer questions during their Oct. 10 meeting, but he later changed his stance, instead saying the questions would be answered after all the settlement documents were signed.

That was done Oct. 15, finalizing the $40 million out-of-court settlement with the city’s former auditors CliftonLarsonAllen and Janis Card and Associates, as well as its former financial institution, Fifth Third Bank.

But Monday, Burke said he doesn’t plan to answer additional questions for a number of reasons, including, he said, the fact that outside of a single Dixon City Council meeting he hasn’t been asked any questions.

“I think most people are ready to move on with this whole thing,” Burke said. “Like I said, there’s been millions of words written about this thing. There’s been a financial settlement and the amount speaks for itself. … At some point, what’s the purpose of sitting down and rehashing this thing again?”

However, he didn’t rule out ever answering questions. If it became “a big public issue,” he said he likely would.

“Everything has been thoroughly aired,” he said. “There’s been legal briefs filed on so many things. And what purpose does it serve to drag all this stuff up again?”